In 1989 alterations were made to the base of the lighthouse to provide a radio base and observation post for the Point Danger Air-Sea Rescue organisation. The laser beam was created by Laser Electronics Pty Ltd of Southport, but was found to be insufficient for the safety of shipping and shortly after installation, was replaced with conventional lighting. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry. The estimated cost of the project, including landscaping, was $72,189 and the lighthouse was officially opened on 18 April 1971 by The Hon. The seven storey lighthouse, constructed of concrete, was built by Murwillumbah contractors Hanna & Edmed based on an original concept by the Gold Coast City Council’s first staff architect, Les Nyerges.Ĭonsisting of four pillars, the lighthouse includes a capstan made by James Kemp and Co Pty Ltd that was cast from iron ballast reclaimed from Endeavour Reed where it was jettisoned by Cook in 1770. Photographer Ray SharpeĪir Sea Rescue Headquarters Point Danger, circa 1990. Photographer Patricia BaillieĬaptain Cook Memorial Lighthouse, circa 1982. The expedition's clockwise circling of Hawaii was also considered culturally significant.Captain Cook Memorial Lighthouse, 2007. The Resolution, for all its shoddy repairs, apparently resembled artefacts of cultural significance to the locals. By chance, it happened just as locals were beginning to celebrate the Makahiki, a harvest festival of worship for Lono, the Polynesian god of peace and prosperity. The timing of their arrival was significant. The Resolution and the Discovery spent eight weeks circling the Hawaiian Islands looking for a suitable place to drop anchor, before making landfall at Kealakekua Bay on the main island of Hawaii on January 17, 1779. "In the evening we discovered another island to the windward which the natives call O'wy'he." "He made me a present of two or three small pigs and we got by barter from the other people a little fruit," Cook wrote. Days later, Kalani'opu'u, the high chief of Hawaii, came on board the Resolution. The expedition spotted Maui on November 26 as the ships sailed to the Hawaiian Islands. Like millions of travellers would do after him, he decided to ditch the winter chill and escape to Hawaii. "The season was now so very far advanced and the time when the frost is expected to set in so near at hand, that I did not think it consistent with prudence to make any farther attempts to find a passage this year," Cook wrote in his diary. Related articlesĬook took the HMS Resolution on two Pacific expeditions. By late August, as the expedition was off the coast of Russia, winter began setting in and Cook put a pause on the mission. They were later renamed the Hawaiian Islands.Īfter a quick stop on the island of Kauai, the ships continued north to seek a northwest passage. Cook named them the Sandwich Islands after Lord Sandwich, who also had a namesake in a very popular snack. Then it continued north.Ī history-making moment happened in January 1778, when the expedition spotted a group of islands unknown to Europe. With Cook at the helm of the Resolution, and with the HMS Discovery also in tow, the expedition made various stops in the early months of the voyage: New Zealand, Tasmania, Tonga, Tahiti. No one realised what a poor state the ship was in until after it had left England. The Resolution had been patched up with rotten wood and inadequate watertight sealing. It's been noted Cook didn't oversee repairs to the ship to the same extent he had done on his previous expeditions. Volume 1 of Captain Cook's record of his third voyage of discovery.
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